


Stained Coffee Cup

by ChocolateCapCookie



Series: Cookie's Stocking Fills [4]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Coffee Shop Owner Tony Stark, Fluff, Gen, Idiots in Love, M/M, Meet-Cute, POV Steve Rogers, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Pre-Slash, Steve Rogers Feels, Tony Stark Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-13 03:13:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28896429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocolateCapCookie/pseuds/ChocolateCapCookie
Summary: Steve had loved reading for as long as he could remember, which was why this cool, shaded café that was part of Stark Bookstores was now his comfort spot. Every Friday, when he was done with his last class, he’d settle himself comfortably in his regular seat with a book and a fresh cup of coffee. These were the best times of his week, and Steve looked forward to them more than he could ever explain.Although lately, it was getting harder to justify, even to himself, that he was only looking forward to the books and the coffee.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Cookie's Stocking Fills [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2161581
Comments: 6
Kudos: 78
Collections: POTS (18+) Stony Stocking 2020





	Stained Coffee Cup

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Askafroa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Askafroa/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by [Askafroa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Askafroa/pseuds/Askafroa) in the [stony_stocking_2020](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/stony_stocking_2020) collection. 



> Title from No Control by One Direction bc I have never ever got over my 1D phase lmao

Steve sipped his coffee with a smile, his heart content and at peace. Sitting here outside of Stark Bookstores, he had everything he needed to keep him happy: a nice, fat, new book and a hot cup of coffee that would stay warm for at least an hour.

Steve had loved reading for as long as he could remember. A pale, scrawny and sickly child, Steve had spent most of his childhood in bed or in the hospital, where all he had for entertainment were his beloved books. Even in the little time he wasn’t sick, he was too weak to be able to play with the other children and join in their rambunctious games, and he spent every recess period reading quietly in the library.

Even now, as an adult, Steve had never lost his love of books, which was why this cool, shaded café that was part of Stark Bookstores was now his comfort spot. Every Friday, when he was done with his last class, he’d settle himself comfortably in his regular seat, either buying a new book or pulling out one that he hadn’t finished yet, and curling up for hours with a hot cup of coffee. These were the best times of his week, and Steve looked forward to them more than he could ever explain.

Although lately, it was getting harder to justify, even to himself, that he was only looking forward to the books and the coffee.

Steve was a little ashamed of himself, but for the past couple of months, he’d often found himself distracted from his reading, instead spending his time staring at the barista who’d just recently started working at the café.

Steve had had crushes before, and once even gotten so far as kissing a girl — Peggy had been his first kiss, in his freshman year of college, and she’d pulled away after a couple of seconds, giggling about how Steve really wasn’t meant to be with girls. But this… this was something new.

The barista, whose name-tag identified him as “Tony”, was one of the few people Steve could claim was the same height as him. He was still a little taller than Steve, but he was petite and lithe, his firm muscles visible as he poured out cups of coffee and handed customers their change. As much as Steve blushed even thinking about it, he’d spent quite a bit of time staring at Tony’s butt, which was very beautiful and round and lush, accentuated by his tight pants and the ribbon of his apron.

But more than that, Tony seemed to be sincerely nice, something Steve could say about very few people. He’d seen Tony give children an extra slice of cake if they were being nice, and he almost always handed out fresh cups of coffee to any homeless people who happened to be outside the shop. He’d never seen Tony shout or yell at anyone, not even the woman who’d complained last week about her coffee being “too cold” and then demanded a refund. Tony had simply and politely explained to her that he couldn't do that, not if she’d already drunk it, and he’d even kicked her out with a sweet little smile on his face.

Steve was so totally gone for him.

And today, he told himself, today was the day he was finally going to man up and speak to the pretty little barista.

He ordered a hot chocolate, blushing a little as Tony handed him the cup.

“Not in the mood for coffee today?”

“Thought I’d like to try something different.” Steve smiled shyly, holding the cup in his hands and wondering what to say next. He should’ve written a script for this.

“So what’re you reading today?” Tony asked, wiping his hands on a towel and leaning on the counter. He looked so beautiful, Steve nearly felt his heart stop.

“Um.” He dug nervously in his bag, looking for his copy of _Murder Most Frothy_. “It’s been on my list for a while.”

“That’s definitely more of a hot chocolate book,” Tony agreed, and Steve felt his heart leap. Finally! Common ground!

“You’ve read this before?” he asked, and by the look on Tony’s face, his excitement must have been clear in his voice.

“I’ve read every book they have in the store,” Tony replied, kindly not making fun of Steve, who just stared at him in shock. “I’m guessing you didn’t know?”

“Know what?”

“It’s a long story,” Tony said, turning away and walking further behind the counter. Steve’s heart fell for a split second, before he noticed that Tony had taken his apron off and was now walking back towards Steve. “How about I tell you over a cup of hot chocolate?”

Steve felt his heart grow by a couple of sizes as he shyly followed Tony to his regular booth. He was finally sitting down and having a drink with Tony the Barista!

Tony looked amazing, he noticed, his olive-toned skin glowing in the direct sunlight. The black shirt and skinny jeans he wore highlighted every inch of muscle, and Steve could tell, under the loose t-shirt, Tony was really very well built. And his honey-brown eyes that Steve had always loved, well, they were a beautiful golden colour in the sun, and Steve couldn’t stop staring at them.

He was so beautiful that Steve could barely hear what he was saying, too absorbed in taking in this gorgeous man to his fill. When he finally did register what Tony had said, Steve almost spat his mouthful of hot chocolate over him, which would have been a waste since it really did taste amazing.

“You own this place?!”

“And the bookstore,” Tony confirmed, laughing at the gobsmacked look on Steve’s face. “My name’s Tony Stark.”

“But… but… why are you… I mean, why do you work here if you already—”

“It’s stupid,” said Tony, blushing a little bit, and Steve could feel his heart soften as he took in the soft red on Tony’s cheeks. “I just — I noticed you were a regular at the shop, sometimes, but I never got a chance to talk to you. And then when I saw you were here at the same time every week, I figured picking up one shift a week wouldn’t kill me.” He smiled shyly at Steve. “I’ve been working here for three months trying to pluck up the courage to talk to you. I’m an idiot, huh?”

“No, Tony!” said Steve quickly, stumbling over his words to try and get Tony to see the point. “I've been reading _Murder Most Frothy_ for weeks now because every time I come here, I’m so busy watching you that I don't actually read anything!” Steve took a deep breath. “I really— really like you, Tony.”

“I’d ask you to get a cup of coffee with me, but I think that’d be a little overkill, huh?” laughed Tony, poking at Steve’s half-empty cup. He looked so happy, so content, that Steve felt a sudden rush of courage. Before he could think about it, he leaned over the table and pressed his lips to Tony’s.

There was a beat of silence, of hesitation, and then Tony wrapped his hand around Steve’s neck, pulling him closer and kissing him more intensely than Steve could ever have imagined. Steve closed his eyes, falling into the sensation of finally having Tony this close, of finally being able to kiss him the way he’d wanted to for so long.

Tony fisted at the little hairs at the back of Steve’s neck, pressing one last, tiny kiss to his lips before pulling away. They stared at each other, flushed and breathless, eyes twinkling with happiness.

“How about we skip coffee and go straight to dinner?”

And Steve, well, he’d never heard a better idea in his life.

**Author's Note:**

> My idiotic ass wrote this whole fic before I looked over the prompt again and saw it said _magical_ bookstore AU. I know this is in no way magic, but I hope you like it, Mairi. I love your artwork, and thank you for being an absolute sweetheart for this fandom🥰🥰🥰🥰


End file.
